BLANK CITY: No. 8 Lynx pitch another shutout, now 2-0

April 9, 2013

WEBSTER CITY - Brody Foster and the rest of his defensive cohorts take it personally when they allow a goal. But through two matches they haven't had to grimace once.

Looking at an open net in the 72nd minute, Foster - a three-year defensive starter for the No. 8-ranked (Class 2A) Webster City boys' soccer team - raced back and threw his body in front of a shot bound for the net to preserve a 1-0 lead, and the Lynx went on to take down Humboldt, 2-0, on the pitch at Lynx Field.

WCHS (2-0) has yet to allow a goal in 160 minutes of action this spring and has outscored its opponents 8-0.

Article Photos

DFJ photo by Troy BanningWebster City sophomore Seth Crouthamel (10) fights for possession of the ball with Humboldt’s Ian Hader during the first half at Lynx Field last night in Webster City. WCHS, ranked No. 8 in Class 2A, scored a pair of second half goals to prevail, 2-0.

DFJ photo by Troy BanningWCHS senior Kirk Greenley (3) lines up a shot as Humboldt’s Isiah Mooney slides in for the block last night at Lynx Field in Webster City.

DFJ photo by Troy BanningWebster City senior forward Sam Bowman (8) collides with Humboldt goalkeeper Jack Curran midway through the first half last night at Lynx Field. Bowman received a yellow card on the play, but it didn’t deter the Lynx in a 2-0 victory.

DFJ photo by Troy BanningWCHS freshman Landon Daniels heads the ball to a teammate near midfield during last night’s 2-0 win over Humboldt at Lynx Field.

DFJ photo by Troy Banning

"The defense played well again," WCHS head coach Craig Signorin said. "Wherever we're going to go, the defense is going to take us there. We'll score a goal or two and go from there."

The Lynx were without fellow three-year starting defenseman Nick Olmstead, who watched form the sideline after having his wisdom teeth removed on Friday. Brandon Jessen stepped in and filled the void, as WCHS turned Humboldt away on several strong scoring opportunities.

"With Olmstead out and Jessen stepping in, that was absolutely huge," Signorin said. "I knew coming into this that Humboldt has been getting better they've got some athletes out there and they played us hard all 80 minutes."

Senior goalkeeper Austin Koons stopped seven shots, keyed by three diving deflections, the last coming on the attack that left the net open in the 72nd minute. But Foster had his back - literally - and the Wildcats (0-1) never threatened again.

WCHS held a 21-10 advantage in shots on goal, including a 14-7 edge in the second half when the Lynx scored both of their goals.

Senior midfielder Christian Lemus provided all of the scoring. He punched in a penalty kick in the 44th minute to put the Lynx in front for good, and added a long-distance bomb off a free kick with just 4.9 ticks left on the clock.

Lemus was fouled on a header attempt inside the goal box just 3 minutes, 37 seconds into the second half. On the penalty kick, Humboldt goalkeeper Jack Curran tipped his hand and Lemus slammed it in the lower left-hand corner.

"He's our guy," Signorin said of Lemus, who tallied his second and third goals of the young season. "He's got no problem stepping up ... that's his job."

Both teams had scoring chances later in the second half, but were never able to capitalize.

The head referee opted to stop the clock on a Humboldt foul in the waning moments and that allowed Lemus to send a rocket from 25 yards out into the back of the net.

"(The referee) has the discretion to stop the clock if he thinks we're going to waste time, and that's what we were doing," Signorin said. "But I said to myself, that's fine, he's just going to score again."

Humboldt's best scoring look came early on a breakaway down the left flank by Craig Fishel. He out-raced Koons to a ball in the open and had an open net ahead, but his kick sailed wide right.

WCHS took seven shots in the first half, but lacked the aggressiveness off throw-ins that led to so many goals a year ago when it reached the Class 2A state tournament for the first time.

"It wasn't pretty (offensively), but there were some build-ups that we started all the way from the back," Signorin said. "We just couldn't finish. No one really wanted to score in the first half.

WCHS will be back in action on Friday at Iowa Falls-Alden before traveling to the challenging Hudson Invitational on Saturday.